Off to the social media

Off to the social media

Get on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like.If the church is not present in the digital media, it misses an important part of the reality of people’s lives, according to the media expert of the Roman Curia, Bishop Paul Tighe.

The Church must always ask itself what it means to live in a changing cultural world, Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, emphasized in an interview with the Austrian news agency Kathpress with regard to social media.

Prayer support on Twitter

"The best ideas will not come from Rome, but from all over the world," says Tighe. He pointed to existing initiatives such as the "Sacred Space" project, which posts daily impulses online, or parish priests offering prayer support on Twitter. The bishop spoke at the conference "Christianity and Mediality" of the Institute for World Church and Mission in Frankfurt.

Language should also be able to surprise

At the meeting, which ended on Friday, Tighe spoke about the mission of the church on the "digital continent. Many people can no longer understand the language of the church, it is too serious and intellectual. Tighe therefore pleaded for a language that could also surprise sometimes.

"We are not expected to be humorous, but when we are, people take us seriously," he told Kathpress. Social networks allow immediate feedback and show what is important to people. The point, he said, is to engage in debates already underway "instead of answering questions that no one is asking".

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